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Scota: Mother of Scotland and Daughter of a Pharaoh

During the 1440s, a Scottish chronicler, Walter Bower, sought to trace the history of the Scottish people from the earliest times. The result of his endeavour was the creation of a compendium of Scottish history, the Scotichronicon. Perhaps one of the most astonishing claims made by Bower in his Scotichronicon is that the Scottish people were actually descendants of the ancient Egyptians, and could trace their ancestry to the daughter of an Egyptian pharaoh, Scota.

The Moses Connection to Scota

The story of Scota begins with a Greek king by the name of Gaythelos. In one version of the story which involves Ireland, Gaythelos is known as Gaodhal Glas (the word ‘Gael’ is said to be derived from his name), and was originally from the region of Scythia. It is also said that Gaodhal Glas lived during the time of Moses, andthe latter is said to have cured the former when he was bitten by a serpent.

Gaodhal Glas was also promised by Moses that no serpent or other poisonous creature will inhabit the western island that his posterity would inhabit one day. One of Gaodhal Glas’ grandsons, Niul, was invited into Egypt as an instructor by a pharaoh, and eventually married one of his daughters, Scota (Both ‘Scotland’ and the Roman name for Ireland, ‘Scotia’, are said to be derived from her name).Niul and Scota’s people were later driven from Egypt by a later pharaoh, and wandered around the Mediterranean until they reached Spain.

During the rule of Miled / Milesius (whose wife was incidentally also a pharaoh’s daughter by the name of Scota), these people heard about Ireland, and believed it to be the island foresaw by Moses. Although Miled died in Spain, his wife and children eventually reached and settled in Ireland.

Irish and Scottish Origins Intertwine

This legendary origin of the Irish people is also shared by the Scots. For the Scots, however, the story did not end in Ireland. From Ireland, the descendants of Niul and Scota travelled to the west coast of Scotland, battled and defeated the Picts, and became the Scottish people. This version of Scottish lineage can also be found in the Declaration of Arbroath, an important document written in 1320 by the barons and noblemen of Scotland requesting the intervention of the Pope on their behalf during the Wars of Independence. In the second paragraph of the document, it is written:

Most Holy Father, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. It journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage peoples, but nowhere could it be subdued by any people, however barbarous. Thence it came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to its home in the west where it still lives today.

Scota by Another Name

Not everyone agrees that the Scots originated from Scythia, however. One writer, for instance, speculated that Gaythelos / Gaodhal Glas was neither a Greek king, nor a Scythian, but an Egyptian pharaoh himself. In Scota, Egyptian Queen of the Scots , Ralph Ellis traces the story of Scota and Gaythelos to a 3rd century BC source, Manetho’s Aegyptiaca.

Using this ancient source, it has been argued that Scota was actually Ankhesenamun, the widow of Tutankhamen. Gaythelos, on the other hand, has been argued to be Ay, the successor, and according to Ellis, also the father of Tutankhamen. Due to religious conflict, Ay’s reign was cut short, and the pharaoh and his court were soon forced into exile. Like the Irish legends, Ay and Ankhesenamun wandered around before settling in Spain. Several generations later, there was a migration to Ireland, and thence to Scotland.

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Comments

Only one problem with that... Skythia is Skye in the Hebrides, home of the Ebra (Hebrew) and Hispania is Lochaber, around Ben Nevis, formerly known as Mount Ispanis and the River Ispanis, now the River Spean (Spain)... as seen online in the old Scottish maps on the National Library of Scotland's website The Egypt in question was England, where there are 14 places known by that name, it was the Land of Ham (Ammon) and the homeland of the Ægyptians... the Gypsies. The Faragh - the Pharaoh - was a ‘Celtic’ clan chief, as was Fenius (Phoenicians) the Irish King who "hailed from Skythia - in the North” - that’s to the north of Ireland. The Pillars of Hercules are the Paps of Jura - the original IONA - and those Hebrew migrants, the Scots/Phoenicians settled finally "in their homelands in the West, where they still live to this day”... the quotes are from the opening lines of The Declaration of Arbroath. The ‘homeland’ in question is Galloway, once Galilee, the Land of the Kenites from Loch Ken... the Tynklers of Little Ægypt - or the ‘King’s Kindly Tenants’ as the Bruce called them when he gave them the four towns of Lochmaben “in perpetuity” for saving the day for him. The Tynklers formed the first Craft Guilds, from which eventually sprang Masonry. If you would like more clarification of this history, my book, ‘We ~ The Skythians - The Lie of the Land of Ægypt’ is to be republished on 11/11/15. There have been many lies told, but the truth is coming.

David Alan, do you see any correlation in the stories and timelines of Joseph, son of Jacob, and the stories of Ay? This is of great interest to me These concepts would perceive some Scottish clan descendants of the original 12 tribes. I am of the Fraser clan on my father's side, but unable to join any masonic organization with a library, as far as i know, because of my gender.

Autumn, I see every correlation with Jacob, who was named Israel at Peniel, if you know your Bible. Peniel Heugh Iron Age fort is near Ancrum in the Borders, where the oldest ‘Roman’ road in the world, Deer Street, crosses the River Teviot, a tributary of the Tweed. The place where the ancient ford crosses the river is called JERDON-FIELD, or Jordan, which is Hebrew means ‘ford’. On the north side of the ford are the remains of the 12 Harestanes stone circle. The Israelites put put up 12 stones when they crossed the Jordan, on their way to Jerusalem after the Exodus. The ‘Reed Sea’ is the Solway Firth, where the Gypsies used to cross at low tide to bypass the Roman Wall at its western terminus, into Palestine, which means ‘the Land between the Walls’ (Pales/fences). I obviously have much more detail, like Perthshire being Parthia (Persia) etc., but I’m sure I could answer any questions you have about family connections or Masonic histories.

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